I don't have a problem WITH chocolate. I have a problem WITHOUT chocolate.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Rococo Moroccan Mint

Yep, that ice sure hit us here in DC this weekend. You can check out my other blog for an accounting of what this meant for my weekend. But that’s just my weekend. What about everybody else’s? Was it cold and icy/snowy near you? If you are just about anywhere in the mid-Atlantic or northeastern U.S., it probably is. So you likely need to keep thinking of summer-like things. Such as real mint leaves. It’s too bad I already discussed the John&Kira’s UrbanGarden Mint bar on Friday.

Oh, but we’re lucky today. Because I have another bar with real mint leaves. This time, it’s Rococo’s Moroccan Mint, a bar that Rococo founder Chantal Coady designed with her birthplace, Tehran, in mind.

The mint for this bar is grown in a garden behind their flagship store in London, and the cacao is from the Grococo farm in Grenada. This 65% cacao bar has a very strong mint aroma that is more savory than sweet, and the mint flavor is present throughout, but is not dominant.

A bit of coffee and a hint of earthiness are evident in the flavor, as is a touch of vanilla. It’s a refreshing bar, with a cooling mint flavor and well-distributed whole leaves that are apparent but not distracting, as they are very finely chopped. The only mar in this creation is a slightly dry melt at the beginning, but redemption comes when the melt turns buttery at the end.

This bar is quite good, with a flavor of real mint and a balance between mint and chocolate. A nice introduction to Rococo that leaves me wanting more of their bars.